Skydiver killed, woman hurt in north Macomb accident

Sunday, October 13, 2013

By MITCH HOTTSmitch.hotts@macombdaily.com; @mhotts

An Oakland County skydiver died Saturday evening after he fell out of control and landed on a female pedestrian who was in the landing zone of an airstrip in northern Macomb County, according to state and local authorities.

Michigan State Police identified the skydiver as Kenneth Ryan Bernek, 34, of Waterford Township, who started falling out of control about 6:20 p.m. as members of the Midwest Freefall Sport Parachute Club conducted jumps from a grass airstrip on Kunstman Road near Romeo Plank Road in Ray Township.

Bernek struck a tree before he collided with the pedestrian on the ground, Lt. Michael Shaw said in a news release.

The female victim, a 53-year-old Ray Township woman, was transported to a hospital for treatment of non life-threatening injuries, Shaw said. She was expected to be released.

Medstar and Richmond-Lenox EMS crews who responded to the airstrip performed CPR on Bernek before rushing him to the hospital, where he later died.

It was not immediately clear why the female victim was in the landing zone, officials said.

The news release indicated the accident took place at Ray Township Airport, but airport manager George Fox late Saturday said there had been no incident at his facility. Ray Township fire officials said the Kunstman air strip was the location of the accident.

Ray Township Assistant Fire Chief Cecil Schoenherr said it was the club’s second accident of the season.

“This type of accident is pretty rare,” Schoenherr said. “They run a pretty good club over there. But anytime you’re jumping out of an airplane at 13,000 feet, you’re taking a risk.”

Due to the federal government partial shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration was unable to provide information on the incident or whether the FAA was going to conduct an investigation, Laura J. Brown, an FAA public affairs officer, said in an email.

Bernek, formerly of Crossville, Tenn., has numerous photographs of himself at various air facilities on his Facebook page.

According to the club’s website, Midwest Freefall Sport Parachute Club is a non-profit entity based at the airstrip that exists to promote the enjoyment of skydiving and sport parachuting. A message on the website indicates the club wishes to “share the experience with others in a careful, controlled manner.”

Randy Allison, the club’s general manager, could not be reached for comment Saturday night.